Museum Review: deCordova Sculpture Park

51 Sandy Pond Road

Lincoln, MA 01773

Admission Price: $14 Adults, $12 Students & Seniors

Free for Trustees Members, NEMA members, children 12 and under

Jim Dine, "Two Big Black Hearts." Bronze. 1985. Photo by author.

The phrase “contemporary art exhibition” tends to conjure visions of colorful mixed media works set against the stark white walls of a pristine art gallery, complete with high glass windows, watchful docents, and a general sense of academic, even austere, silence. The deCordova Sculpture Park lends a breath of fresh air—quite literally—to this stereotypical but not uncommon museum experience.

View of Flint's Pond. Photo by author.

Located about forty-five minutes from downtown Boston in the charming town of Lincoln, the park boasts more than sixty unique outdoor sculptures on thirty acres of verdant land. Dotted with scenic gardens, sprawling forests, and a stunning view of Flint’s Pond, it’s the perfect place to contemplate the wonder of creation in both its natural and manmade forms. Each sculpture ranges in size, media, and even sensory output for a varied experience. Works of glass and gleaming silver metal refract dazzling sunbeams; warm bronze absorbs the hues of the towering red oak trees that surround the landscaped lawns; a large set of standing tubes resembling a huge pan pipe sends music through the air when gently tapped, marrying its tune with that of the birds high in the trees. Whether a bright sunny day in spring or a petrichor-scented afternoon in winter, the park and its sculptures offer an escape into a true New England landscape and insight into the thoughtful artists who considered site-specificity in their designs.

One such work is Huff and Puff by Hugh Hayden, a New York-based artist, from 2023. A unique replica of Henry David Thoreau’s cabin on Walden Pond, there’s no escaping it, even if you happen to miss it on your walk through the park. Featured on the site map and other marketing material, the image of this “house” looks so distorted and stretched, one could be forgiven for thinking it the unfortunate InDesign error of a poor caffeine-starved intern. Look in person, however, and you’ll instantly see that this work’s charm and meaning stem from its unorthodox construction. On three of the wood cabin’s sides, proportion distortion reigns, while standing at the righthand side of the front door will give your confused eye the picture it seeks: a perfectly ordinary log cabin. That is, until you take about three steps to your left.

Both the cabin’s construction and its title indicate that unseen but powerful forces are acting upon it, whether that is a gale-force hurricane, the huff and puff of an angry wolf, or the slow but sure effects of time and a changing climate. Hayden draws his viewers into this work with its playfulness, fun, and absurdity, and then presents a serious message once he has captured their attention. Standing on the beautiful park lawns surrounded by red oak groves on the shore of Flint’s Pond, Walden Pond is brought to vivid life, as are Thoreau’s own words on the transcendent power of nature: “Ah, dear nature…I come to it as a hungry man to a crust of bread.” Nature feeds us and in turn, we must do our own part to take care of her.

Step beyond Huff and Puff and you’ll see Temporal Shift (2021) by Alyson Shotz, a beautiful, almost liquid-like ring of polished stainless steel meant to evoke the elliptical form of Earth’s rotation around the sun. The space within its gleaming silver orb feels almost like a portal which, if one were to walk through it, would transport them to another world entirely. Near the park’s entrance, situated on a high terrace, is Best of All Possible Worlds by Saul Melman, an installation of glass doors arranged in the exact pattern of the artist’s doors in his Brooklyn apartment. In a reversal of our usual process of bringing the outdoors inside, with plants and animals, he has brought the indoors outside. Jim Dine’s Two Big Black Hearts (1985) is another show-stopping piece. Standing at twelve feet tall each, this pair of cast bronze hearts bear not only the artist’s own handprints on their surfaces, but faces, seashells, and tools reminiscent of his grandparent’s hardware store, all mixing together in a unique alchemy of identity.

Photo by author.

After touring the sculpture grounds and sitting in the shade of The Grove for a quiet moment of contemplation, visitors can head into the Twisted Tree café or grab a souvenir in the gift shop. While the deCordova’s brick-and-mortar museum at the top of the hill is currently closed, there’s no shortage of extracurricular events to keep patrons coming back for more. Whether a moonlit stargazing night or family yoga classes, there are countless opportunities for locals to continue learning, exploring, and appreciating the harmony of natural and manmade art.

And the best part? Four-legged art adventurers are welcome too!

Visit the deCordova Sculpture Park website for more information.